AES: Trade ministers prepare 5th ministerial meeting in Bamako

Trade ministers of the confederal area met in Bamako to prepare the 5th AES ministerial meeting, according to a video broadcast by RTB. The discussions, led by experts and the private sector, focus on smoothing intra-AES trade, creating a joint purchasing center, and combating fraud. The agenda includes evaluating the priority action plan of the roadmap for the 2nd year of the Burkinabe presidency, drafting a directive to attract investment, and draft decisions on trade fraud. The conclusions will be submitted to the ministers for adoption on September 28. The targeted investment amount and the identity of potential funders were not specified. AES seeks to build its own economic instruments. A joint purchasing center and a unified investment framework could reduce logistical costs in this landlocked Sahelian zone marked by insecurity. Source: RTB, recent video (automatic transcription). Sankofa Landmark — A purchasing center and investment directive strengthen AES trade integration, but a slice of sovereignty is not true sovereignty: as long as Mali, Burkina Faso, and Niger remain tied to the CFA franc and its fixed parity with the euro, their economic sovereignty remains partial, subject to actual conditions on the political and geopolitical ground.